Mitchell B. put this on Scary Gary thread, finally found it at WND: link Sen. Bennett has been warning businesses and individuals of the potential hazards of the Year 2000 computer bug in his role as Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. Now he believes that America's enemies are planning a cyber attack that could bring down America's infrastructure.

But it is not government computers that some terrorists will be going after. Osama bin Laden has been quoted in London and Israel papers as having a much different target. He reportedly has ordered his forces to shut down American banking, communications, power and transportation systems.

Such a shutdown could be accomplished using cyber-terrorism, and could be made to look like a Y2K failure.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), November 12, 1999

Answers

Or Such a shutdown could be Y2k problem that was not fixed as they said it was, so they use this "terrorist" thing as a backup plan so that they don't have to admit that they Fkdup

-- * (dontbelivenothin@any.more), November 12, 1999.

Foreign fruit tree virus threatens Penn. crops << A deadly fruit tree virus may force some Pennsylvania peach farmers to destroy their crops worth millions of dollars, farmers and agriculture officials said on Tuesday.

The plum pox virus, which previously has been seen only in Europe, was discovered in Pennsylvania September. The virus, dubbed the ``AIDS of fruit trees,'' has infected more than one-third of the 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) of peach orchards in Adams County in south central Pennsylvania.

A U.S. Agriculture Department official said the agency was discussing issuing an ``extraordinary emergency order'' that would give farmers indemnity payments to burn infected crops. The official did not say when that order might take effect or how much of the areas crops would be affected.

John Halbrendt, a plant pathologist at Pennsylvania State University, said destroying infected trees is the only way to stem the epidemic.

``There is no cure for an infected tree,'' Halbrendt said.

The virus, which can infect peach, plum, apricot, nectarine and almond trees, poses no risk to human health, said William Kleiner, Adams County extension service director.

``It doesn't kill you. It just cuts production down. It's a slow death to the tree,'' he said, adding that farmers fear a drop in fruit sales due to wary consumers.

``It's all so new to us.'' said James Lerew, whose farm located 16 miles north of Gettysburg has been infected. ``We don't have an idea why it hit here ... we just don't know where it's going to stop.''

When asked how much of his crop he would have to destroy to eradicate the virus, he said, ``possibly all of it.''

According to the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, losses from destroying trees could range from $500,000 to $1 million per farm.

Moreover, if the virus continued to spread, the USDA could impose a five-year ban on growing peaches, area farmers said, dealing a devastating economic blow to a region that grows 43 percent of Pennsylvania's peach crop and is a prime competitor in international markets. >>

Link

Perhaps I am getting paranoid, but you really have to wonder between the airplanes falling out of the sky and now two foreign 'viruses' all in the Northeast. Has someone already targeted the US and/or are they just testing the water before a larger multi-pronged attack at Y2K?

-- John (jh@NotReal.ca), November 12, 1999.

..."There is the possibility that a terrorist organization could disrupt a major computer system and make it look like it was Y2K- related," said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah..."

Disturbing, but isn't there also the possibility that genuine Y2K problems could be attributed to terrorist activity?

-- Sara Nealy (keithn@aloha.net), November 12, 1999.

Somebody email Bresnahan and ask him to date the source data.

I'm curious if Bennett said this recently.

I realize the concept's been around a while.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), November 12, 1999.

i am not belittling the pennsylvania plight... would never think of doing so... but the pennsylvania peach crop is kinda like the florida snow ski season. it doesn't count for much.

-- clayton (ratchetass@hotmail.com), November 12, 1999.

As long as the migrating birds don't carry it south ... Interesting timing for both this and the West Nile virus.

-- John (jh@NotReal.ca), November 12, 1999.

"Global citizens of the future will be granted limited rights in exchange for guaranteed security."

- From the Report of the Commission on Global Governance, 'Our Global Neighbourhood'

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), November 12, 1999.